Dental implants are artificial teeth that replace missing teeth, and are widely used to enable the functional and aesthetic repair of missing teeth. In comparison to natural teeth attached to alveolar bone by periodontal ligament, dental implants are characterized in that artificial dental roots are attached directly to bone.
A dental implant is physically fixed by contact of the implant with the surrounding bone at the same time as placement and is biologically fixed by formation of new bone tissue around the implant and osseointegration with the surrounding bone after placement. However, in geriatric patients, it may be difficult to ensure initial stability, which is important in osseointegration, due to insufficient bone mass or reduced bone quality. In this case, early failure of implants may arise. Meanwhile, even in general adult patients in addition to geriatric patients having insufficient bone mass and reduced bone quality, the application of biological factors is essential for initial engraftment after implant placement and for shortening of the treatment period.
Materials for dental implants may be largely divided into metals, ceramics and polymers. These days, most dental implants are manufactured from commercially pure titanium (cpTi) or titanium alloys. At present, various methods for modifying the surface of implants are used to improve the interface between an implant made of titanium or its alloy and bone. In particular, studies have been conducted on the fifth generation implant technology in which biological or biochemical particles or components helpful in bone formation are added to a sandblasted, large-grit and acid-etched (SLA) surface in order to shorten the osseointegration period of implants. In addition, studies based on tissue engineering have been conducted on technologies in which growth factors such as proteins, which promote osteogenic responses, are attached to the surface of implants. In the case of implants made of apatite, studies on the use of apatite together with physiologically active proteins, such as extracellular matrix proteins, bone morphogenetic proteins or tissue growth factors, have been conducted. Furthermore, biomaterials and physiologically active substances have been used in combination, or products comprising a substance coated on the biomaterial surface, for example, GEM21S (containing PDGF) or INFUSE (containing BMP-2), have been developed and commercially used. However, in this case, there are problems in that, when these implants are placed in vivo, the physiologically active substance is easily released without being fixed securely to the biomaterial surface, and in severe cases, it is degraded by exposure to systemic blood, and thus the physiological activity thereof may be reduced and adverse effects in tissues other than a target tissue may arise. In addition, in the case of implants made of titanium or its alloy, various studies based on surface modification and physiologically active substances have been conducted, there are still problems in terms of stability, including possible surface peeling. Therefore, for tissue regeneration with implants, it is required that a physiologically active substance be fixed securely to the biomaterial surface so that the effective activity thereof can be maintained over a long period of time.
Accordingly, the present inventors have made extensive efforts to solve the above-described problems occurring in the prior art, and as a result, have identified a short peptide sequence having a strong binding affinity for the surface of an implant, and have found that the peptide easily binds to the surface of a titanium implant and is maintained in a stable state, thereby completing the present invention.